Here's me at my nursing job. I was safe and away from the front lines, but in desperate need of some action. Sure helping the sick and wounded was necessary, but there were many others ready to take a position like mine. I was tired of just hearing the war stories from those wounded in battle, I wanted a story of my own. The girl in the top left is me in my uniform, when I left my nursing position for more action.
September 27, 1914 Here's my story. On August 12, 1914, just eight days after the war began I enlisted to be a nurse for the British army. There were thirty six of us in all, and I grew close to Flora Sandes and Phillis Johns, they stayed with me throughout most of my war experience. We were shipped off to Serbia within a couple of days and started right away. At first it kept me occupied with all the training, and of course tending to the sick and the wounded. But after a few weeks with most of the activity going on around the western front we were seeing less and less soldiers coming in needing help. Phillis heard talk that some of us were to be shipped elsewhere, somewhere that we would be needed. Sure enough, within the next week some of us, including Flora, Phillis and I were asked to find work in another place. I didn't want to be in another nursing position, sure it was useful, but i wanted an adventure. Flora felt the same way, and with work we convinced Phillis to join us. Flora had a plan for us to see some action. Yesterday we all enlisted in the Army, all of us hoping to be in on some action.
January 3, 1915
The year has gotton off to a dreary start. New Years day was just another day in the trenches; cold, wet, and muddy. Then at twilight the call was made for us to go over the top. Luckily I tripped over some loose barbed-wire when we were running over the top. I have a nasty cut on my leg, but atleast I escaped enemy fire. Many others weren't so lucky though. This has been the worst battle yet but I doubt it will get any better as this war goes on.This picture shows what my daily life is like.Life in the trenches is hard, and many of my fellow soldiers say that because I am a woman I shouldn't even be fighting in this war as a soldier, and definitly not living out my possible final days in the trenches.
July 30, 1915 We have been in an ongoing battle for a long while now. Some are calling it the Battle of the Somme, but I will always remember it as the battle where Phillis died. Her group of soldiers was called to go over the top, but when the few remaining soldiers came running back, she wasn't with them. I feared the worst. I asked Billy if he had saw her and he said he saw her running a few yards away from him one second and heard the blast of an artillery shell where she had been the next. War is a horrible thing. I now wish i had stuck to nursing. I hope it will be over soon.
December 24, 1915
An odd thing has happened this Christmas Eve. The fighting has stopped at my position on the Western Front, and word of a Christmas truce has been mentioned. Flora and I took advantage of this peace time and mourned the loss of Phillis. We also exchanged small gifts with our fellow soldiers, though in most cases there wasnt much more to share than thoughts and stories of home. Already the war is tiring me and I have only spent a few months on the front. The men in on both sides of the front began to speak with each other, even though they are enimies in war they share many common losses and bonded and shared christmas greetings over these. Some even organized football games, glad to get away from the confines of war even for a day. This is some of the British and german troops exchanging Christmas greetings and small gifts on Christmas Day.
November 11, 1918
The war has finally ended! Today is a glorious day! I will now be making the journey home, some say that large crouds of people will be awaiting out return. But i could care less, i just want to get home to my family and home town. Everyone is excited that we "won" the war. But really who won? Every country lost huge amounts of men (and women), and money. Everyone says Germnay lost, and I am also leaning towards that view myself. Stupid Germans, they don't even have enough pride in themselves to fight it out. They surrendered for goodness sake!
Here's me at my nursing job. I was safe and away from the front lines, but in desperate need of some action. Sure helping the sick and wounded was necessary, but there were many others ready to take a position like mine. I was tired of just hearing the war stories from those wounded in battle, I wanted a story of my own.
The girl in the top left is me in my uniform, when I left my nursing position for more action.
September 27, 1914
Here's my story. On August 12, 1914, just eight days after the war began I enlisted to be a nurse for the British army. There were thirty six of us in all, and I grew close to Flora Sandes and Phillis Johns, they stayed with me throughout most of my war experience. We were shipped off to Serbia within a couple of days and started right away. At first it kept me occupied with all the training, and of course tending to the sick and the wounded. But after a few weeks with most of the activity going on around the western front we were seeing less and less soldiers coming in needing help. Phillis heard talk that some of us were to be shipped elsewhere, somewhere that we would be needed. Sure enough, within the next week some of us, including Flora, Phillis and I were asked to find work in another place. I didn't want to be in another nursing position, sure it was useful, but i wanted an adventure. Flora felt the same way, and with work we convinced Phillis to join us. Flora had a plan for us to see some action. Yesterday we all enlisted in the Army, all of us hoping to be in on some action.
January 3, 1915
The year has gotton off to a dreary start. New Years day was just another day in the trenches; cold, wet, and muddy. Then at twilight the call was made for us to go over the top. Luckily I tripped over some loose barbed-wire when we were running over the top. I have a nasty cut on my leg, but atleast I escaped enemy fire. Many others weren't so lucky though. This has been the worst battle yet but I doubt it will get any better as this war goes on. This picture shows what my daily life is like.Life in the trenches is hard, and many of my fellow soldiers say that because I am a woman I shouldn't even be fighting in this war as a soldier, and definitly not living out my possible final days in the trenches.
July 30, 1915
We have been in an ongoing battle for a long while now. Some are calling it the Battle of the Somme, but I will always remember it as the battle where Phillis died. Her group of soldiers was called to go over the top, but when the few remaining soldiers came running back, she wasn't with them. I feared the worst. I asked Billy if he had saw her and he said he saw her running a few yards away from him one second and heard the blast of an artillery shell where she had been the next. War is a horrible thing. I now wish i had stuck to nursing. I hope it will be over soon.
December 24, 1915
An odd thing has happened this Christmas Eve. The fighting has stopped at my position on the Western Front, and word of a Christmas truce has been mentioned. Flora and I took advantage of this peace time and mourned the loss of Phillis. We also exchanged small gifts with our fellow soldiers, though in most cases there wasnt much more to share than thoughts and stories of home. Already the war is tiring me and I have only spent a few months on the front. The men in on both sides of the front began to speak with each other, even though they are enimies in war they share many common losses and bonded and shared christmas greetings over these. Some even organized football games, glad to get away from the confines of war even for a day. This is some of the British and german troops exchanging Christmas greetings and small gifts on Christmas Day.
November 11, 1918
The war has finally ended! Today is a glorious day! I will now be making the journey home, some say that large crouds of people will be awaiting out return. But i could care less, i just want to get home to my family and home town. Everyone is excited that we "won" the war. But really who won? Every country lost huge amounts of men (and women), and money. Everyone says Germnay lost, and I am also leaning towards that view myself. Stupid Germans, they don't even have enough pride in themselves to fight it out. They surrendered for goodness sake!